10 Utterly Devastating Star Trek Endings That Came Out Of Nowhere
7. The Offspring
How does one truly capture the pain of losing a child? That would be difficult enough, but to then tell the story via a character who is known for not possessing emotions makes it a taller ask. The Offspring attempted to do exactly that, introducing us to Lal, Data's newly constructed child.
One could view Admiral Haftel as the villain in this episode, intent as he is on taking Lal away from Data and the Enterprise. It is Data's emotionless responses to both Haftel and Picard, framed as logical questions, that highlight the irrationality of their fears, and Haftel's interest in studying her at a starbase.
When it looks as though the episode is headed in one direction, it takes a swift turn. Lal begins to shut down as her positronic brain is unable to handle all of the emotions that she feels. That final scene of Data talking to her, unable to feel the love for her that she feels for him, before taking his post on the bridge, is brutal. On the one hand, the audience knows that he doesn't feel any pain at her loss. On the other hand, we know that he will never forget her.